Punjab Government is contemplating to establish a 'Punjab Seed Registration and Testing Agency' under the proposed Punjab Seed Act 2011 in order to regulate and ensure the quality of seeds in the province. This agency will be a wing of the Punjab Seed Council (PSC) to be established under the seed act, which is at present in the phase of deliberations with different stakeholders; sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday.
According to the proposed act, functions of the Agency will include acting as secretariat of the Council, regulating the quality of seed on standards, as prescribed by the Council, sample and test seed lots intended for sale in order to ascertain their purity, viability, germination capacity and health status in the manner prescribed.
The proposed agency will also organise training courses for its staff and persons engaged in seed business and provide technical and specialised advice and assistance to the Council in the performance of its functions and constitute crop-specific technical committees to advise the Council in discharge of its functions. The Agency would also formulate recommendations for the approval of plant varieties for commercial cultivation in the province, maintain a list of approved plant varieties, propose procedures and protocols for maintaining purity of the seed stock and conduct and support research in seed production technology.